NEW ENGLAND MOTORSPORTS NORTH
By Lou Modestino (For 3/16-3/18/12)
Bond Auto Parts has stepped up its commitment to support local stock car racing at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. The Barre, VT-based auto parts retailer will present three season-long programs at the Devil’s Bowl half-mile as part of the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The track’s headline open-wheel division will be known as the Bond Auto Parts Modifieds in 2012. Drivers in the Bond Auto Parts Modified class not only race for the Devil’s Bowl Speedway track championship, the division’s top driver will also be crowned the NASCAR Vermont State Champion and honored at a post-season awards gala in Charlotte, NC.
Bond Auto Parts Modified drivers also earn points toward the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship and will be featured in several special events throughout the summer. Top drivers include defending track champion Ron Proctor of Charlton, NY, veterans Vince Quenneville, Jr., and Don Scarborough of Brandon, VT, and young stars Jessey Mueller, Hunter Bates, Jake Zakrzewski, Jr., and Cody Sargen.
In addition to its support of the top class at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Bond Auto Parts will also present the weekly Bond Auto Parts Hard Charger Award in the Renegade and Bomber divisions. Each week, the driver who gains the most positions in each division’s feature races will be rewarded with a $50 gift card to Bond Auto Parts.
“We here at Bond Auto Parts are excited about partnering with the new ownership of Devil’s Bowl Speedway,” said Mark Mast, Vice President of Marketing for Bond Auto Parts. “In our business we try to support as many tracks as we can and Devil’s Bowl offered us some great opportunities. By sponsoring local tracks we can really get our brand out in front of our customer base on all levels including the drivers, teams and the fans.”
Bond Auto Parts is Vermont’s largest aftermarket automotive dealer, with 42 stores serving Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.bondauto.com. Devil’s Bowl Speedway in W. Haven, VT opens its 46th season of stock car racing on Sunday, May 6, with the Bond Auto Parts Modifieds.
Salem, NH., native, Jim Bird, a long-time area auto racing fabricator and crew member was seriously injured recently in a
motor vehicle in Mooresville, N.C. Bird was riding a scooter home from work when struck by a motor vehicle in a city intersection on January 30.
Bird was transported to a Charlotte Hospital where he was treated for multiple injuries including a shattered left hip, broken left femur, broken ribs,serious facial lacerations and mild brain swelling.
Currently in rehabilitation, Bird has started the long road to recovery. Friends back home have joined together and started a fundraiser to help Bird get through the months ahead. Bird is expected to be out of work for an extended period.
Veteran racer Fred Skaff, of Haverhill, MA., made phone calls to other local racers looking for contributions, donations, to help a fallen friend. It did not take long for support to fall in place.
“I called Bob Cabral, Dan Bezanson, Billy McCarthy, Roger Thibodeau, Mark Caron, just to name a few, everyone I spoke too was on board,” said Skaff.“If we can get race fans and racers to contribute, it would be a huge help.
Skaff has opened a checking account under “Friends of Jim Bird” with hopes people will remember the help Bird gave race teams over the years. “Jim was a big help to a lot of racers over the years,” said Skaff. “He was very supportive of Star, Lee, and Hudson Speedway. This a good opportunity for us to show Jim how much we care,” Skaff concluded.
Jim Bird is the brother of former NASCAR crew chief Steve Bird and the son of the late Hudson Speedway and NESMRA official Amos Bird.
Checks made out to Friends of Jim Bird, Please send to Fred Skaff, 29 Rolling Meadows Lane, Haverhill, MA 01832
The Granite State Pro Stock Series roster continues to grow! As the 2012 race season nears, the GSPSS driver roster continues to grow. ‘We are very excited with the support we are receiving from the race teams” stated GSPSS president Mike Parks. As of today we have 24 teams registered and we believe there are still more to come.
Multi time Track Champions Babe Branscombe and Barry Gray head the list of recent registered teams, along with Modified Racing Series stand out Les Hinckley making his return to full fendered racing. Strong competitors from all over New England have stated intent to follow the tour this season. Drivers like: Mike O Sullivan, Fran Colson, Mike Parks, Chris Wilk, and Bryon Baker along with veterans like Dennis Maxfield, Richie Eaton, Jake Vanada and Steve Gauthier.
With this strong support the 2012 GSPSS season has nothing but promise. We continue to receive calls all the time regarding the upcoming season, and we are still working on securing more race dates. The Goal of the GSPSS was to have 12 events but at this point its looking like it will end up around 8, which is fantastic for the inaugural season. The series kicks off with the David’s House 106 on May 26th at Winchester NH’s Monadnock Speedway with an expected purse exceeding $15,000 and a full field of the region’s best Pro Stock teams in action!
People’s United Bank will usher in the new Friday night stock car racing schedule at Devil’s Bowl Speedway with the People’s United Bank Memorial Day Modified Special on Friday, May 25. The event kicks off the new summer schedule for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at the West Haven, VT asphalt half-mile.
With several convenient locations in the Devil’s Bowl community including a branch in Fair Haven, VT just five miles from the race track, the People’s United Bank event continues a relationship that began at the speedway several years ago. A special feature race will be on tap for the Bond Auto Parts Modifieds, with the format to be announced in the coming weeks. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model, Renegade, and Bomber divisions will also be on the card.
“We are pleased to partner with Vermont’s fastest weekly stock car track,” said Kathy Schirling, Director of Marketing and Community Services for People’s United Bank in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. “Devil’s Bowl Speedway provides quality entertainment for individuals and families. We are excited to see the creative changes that new owners Mike and Alayne Bruno will make at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.”
Bond Auto Parts Modified drivers expected to enter the People’s United Bank Memorial Day Special include Vermont racers Hunter Bates, Don Scarborough, Vince Quenneville, Jr., and Dave Snow, and New York’s Jessey Mueller, Paul Dunham, Jr., Jamie Proctor, Jake Zakrzewski, Jr., and defending champion Ron Proctor.
People’s United Bank will present the Memorial Day Modified Special at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. The track’s 46th season opens on Sunday, May 6 at 1:30 p.m, with the Spring Green 112 for the American-Canadian Tour Late Models and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Adding an event that features racing with X-Games-type of action and appeal, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and series officials announced today that the amazing and exciting form of Global RallyCross racing is coming to New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, as part of its July NASCAR weekend.
Featuring a format that’s part time trial, part stunt show and all adrenaline, the series star drivers include Ken Block, Tanner Foust and action sport-NASCAR crossover athletes Travis Pastrana and Brian Deegan. As part of an effort to broaden the relative new sport’s exposure, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is fortunate to be one of four Speedway Motorsports, Inc. race tracks adding GRC racing to its major event weekend lineup.
“This is a great addition to our LENOX Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR weekend,” says Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “With motorsports stars like Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana racing during the day and an X-Games-type entertainment element at night as part of our Saturday lineup brings an outstanding opportunity to broaden our audience, especially that younger demographic.
“Global RallyCross Championship racing brings a very positive and broader appeal to our current NASCAR event template. I spoke to Travis Pastrana in Daytona and he is excited about competing in the New England 200 NASCAR Nationwide race followed by the Global RallyCross that evening.
GRC combines the energy of motor sport with the attitude of action sport, and features production-based, compact cars highly modified for competition to produce more than 600 horsepower. With all-wheel drive, GRC cars can turn on a dime and accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than two seconds. The race tracks, usually around one mile long, are made up of asphalt and dirt and include a crowd-thrilling, crossover 70-foot gap jump along with tight turns and snap directional changes. Races progress in multi-car heats towards an eight-car main event.
For New Hampshire, the course will utilize area in between turns one and two of the one-mile oval.“This is a kind of racing that few have seen before, but I’m certain they’ll be hooked after just one race”, stated Gappens. “RallyCross is a combination of drag racing, road course challenges and jumps that you might think belong under a circus tent. I’m certain this will be a major hit for New England race fans.”
The American Legion post in Camden, ME will host the Mainley Street Rod Auction this Saturday at 9 a.m.
